Driving-clutch for mechanically-propelled vehicles.



No. 859,945. PATENTED JULY 16, 1907.

-T, B. JEPPERY. f DRIVING CLUTCH'POR MEGHANIGALLY PROPELLED VEHICLES.

APPLIQATION FILED AUG. 28. 1905.

A lli s STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS B-JFFERn 0F KENosnm wisconsin..

DRIVING-CLUTCH "iron-L MEcHANroALpYLPRoPELLEn VEHICLES.

To all whom 'it may concern: 7 i

of Kenosha and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Driving-.Clutches for `Mechanically-Propelled Vehicles, of which the follow-l ing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved means for connecting the wheels of a mecha1`1ically-propelled vehicle with the driving member 'or axle in such manner as to permit the free rotation of either Wheel faster than the axle in either direction tionfof the same figure looking in the direction of the arrow 3. i' Fig. 4l is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form of the invention. Fig. 5 is a section at the line 6 5 on Fig. 4. 1

In one form in which my invention may be embodied,

Vthe driving member or axle, l, is mounted and housed lin any suitable or customarymanner in the cross bar,

2, of the frame ofthe vehicle and driven positively by the power communicated through the sprocket` tric so that at one position of the dog on the .eccentric collar both of said gripping faces maybe just barely out of contact with the inner surface of the .encompassing annular fiange, 5a, of the housing,5,and sothat if the dog is rocked a very'short distance in one direction about the eccentric one of the grippingfaces,

8, will be forced out into driving engagement with said flange, and if the dog is rocked a short distance in the vopposite direction the other face, 8, will bensimilarly forced out into driving engagement with the fiange, and

thereby the wheel will be driven with the shaft by specification o'f Letters Patent. Application sled Align@ as, 1905. sentir. 276,031.

the grip of the dog on the flange in whichever direction Be it known that I, THOMAS JEFFERY, a citizen bf' 'the United States, residing at Kenosha, in the county the shaft is rotated,- l Y AI t will be understood that upon thecoinmencement Patented July 16, `1,907.1

of rotationof the shaft-, any friction operating to resist or retard they movement of the dog with the 4shaft will tend torock the dog on theeccentric back relatively to the shafts motion, and .thus .crowd the one or the other of the gripping faces', 8, out into drivingengagement as indicated. To thus retard or resist frictionally the movement of the 'dog with thel shaft and so to cause ythe engagement necessary fordriving, the bearing, 2?, of the shaft, 1, on the frame bar, 2, is provided. at

the extremity with anj annular iiange, 2b, which faces theinner sideof the dog, 7, and in the face of this I Harigev there isfmounted a -frictional ring, 9, whichV may be of leather, fiber or other suitable material to give good frictional engagement against the side of the dog. The eccentric, `6, has aliange, 6a, at the outer end whichforms a lateral stop shoulder for the dog; 7. The dog is thus laterally held ybetween the said stop yshoulder andthefriction ring, 9,' and any dersired amount of frictionalI engagement of the ring upon theface of the dog may be'obtained. by corresponding adjustment of the parts which are provided forstop'pingthe shaft, 1, longitudinally in the bearing. This adjustment is most eectively obtained by making they bearing, 2a, separable the cross bar, 2, and adaptedjo be attached theretoby interiorly threading the bearing and exteriorly threading the end ofthe arm and screwing the two togethensas seen in Fig. l', securing the adjustment by lock nut, 2". It will be seen that by setting the two opposite bearings, 25,

apartronthefcross bar, 2, the frictionrings, 9, for the.

two wheels will bepressed outwardly and lagainst their `respective dogs, 7, toany desiredextent.

Uponv consideration of this device, it will be seen that in turning 'corners the inside wheel will be the driving wheel, andthe outside wheel, being revolved by ,its contact lwith the ground more rapidly than the inside wheel` andaxle, will-free itself from the gripof thevvdog andmaintain such higher speed, because its rotation in the same direction as the axle and dog, butatvv a higher speed than the latter, has the same effect,

so far as the gripping of the dog is concerned, as therehigher rate of speed. An absolatte reverse movement i,

of the shaft itself relativeto the bearings, asabove explained, would cause the dogto grip ,the outer or driven `member positively for reverse movement, but

at the inner side of the clutch housing, 5, form said 'housing in two parts which may be parted'at transthis result does not follow from the o'ver-speedof the outer or driven member, because the driven member has s'till absolute forward movement with respect to the :bearing and friction ring, 9, which prevents it from obtaining any reverse rocking on the eccentric whichv would `be necessary in order to give it the reverse driv- -ing eng-agement with :the outer gripping member. The device, therefore,` accomplishes the purposes stated, of permitting eitherjwheelto obtain a .higher speed than the axle, in the same direction Aas the axle,

'in whichever direction the axle itself is revolved,

l otherwiseworn so as to prevent the necessary lateral pressure, the dog/7, is preferably made so as 'to be bali anced at all positions on the eccentric. This is easily. accomplished notwithstanding the necessary slight protrusion of the two heads' beyond the remainder of the periphery by slightly lightening the dog at the sidev on which those heads project by boring out, as shown at 7b, until the dog is perfectly balanced. Any other mode of lightening this side may be substituted for the expedient-shown.

In Figs. '4 and 5, there is shown a modification of this invention which has l certain advantages. In this form, the lateral friction of the ring, -9, is` dispensed with'. The dog is hung upon the eccentricbetween the stop flange, 6", at one side and a retaining collar, 6b, at the .opposite side which is screwed on to the ec. centric so as not to bind the dog,'but merely to check it against lateral movement, causing it to be journaled as nearly as possible without friction on the eccentric and to be held entirely out ofall possible lateral contact with the driven member, its only contact encept with the eccentric on which it is journaled being that which it obtains at the gripping heads whenever they come into gripping contact with -the encompassing fiange of the driven member. This construction dispenses with the necessity for the flange, .2", on the bear-` ing element, 2, of the vehicle, and thereby withthe necessity for extending said bearing element towardthe'side of the dog. I prefer to give the driven member a bearing on theshaft at the inner side of the clutchI housing, and for thatl purpose, in this form, instead of employing the mere guard plate, 5, shown in Fig. 1,

verse plane about midway in the width and provided with lugs, 5d,.for bolting them together, as shown in Fig. 4; the inner member, 5, 'of such two-part housing being provided with a sleeve or hub, 5d, which obtains bearing on the shaft at the inner side of the eccentric. As a matter of convenience in construction,rthe eccentric may be formed as a sleeve or collar keyed on the shaft and having a'portion concentric -with the shaft and thereby virtually mere enlargement of it at the inner end, which becomes the direct seat or bearing of the hub or sleeve, 51, of the innermember of the housing. This,'however, is a mere preferential mechanical expedient. In thisI form shown in Figs. 4and 5, it will bej-seen that over-speed of the outer member .'has no tendency to move the clutch, except so far as it Vcarried onlyby the slight friction on vthe eccentric,

will tend by inertia to rock back relatively to the driv ing shaft, thus causing it-.to tend to thrust its heads out for gripping, as in the other construction in which it is definitely retarded by the lateral frictional engagement. In practice, the engagement of the dog in this form, whether` foi driving forward or backward, lis

found to be substantially as prompt as when it is ex- `posed to lateral friction, and the entire absence of any frictional engagement of the driven member, except when it is gripped therewith, prevents it from being carried with the driven member by the over-speed of the latter to an extent which would cause it to grip said driven member as for opposite rotation checking its over-speed.

I claim:-

' 1. -The combination with the driving shaft and a driven member ot' a power-propelled vehicle of an eccentric fixed on the shaft; a dog journaled on the eccentric: a flange on the driven member which is circular about the axis of the shaft to which the dog is thrust by movement about the eccentric 4for driving engagement with said driven member, the shaft bearing having frictional contact with the dog for retnrding its rotation with the shaft.

2. The combination with a driving shaft and the driven member of a power-propelled vehicle of an eccentric fixed on the shaft; a flange on the driven member encompassing the eccentric: a dog mounted on the eccentric having two heads adapted to be respectively thrust into engagement with the ange by the movement of the dog about the eccentric in opposite directions, and means fixed with respect to the shaft bearing for frictional engagement with the dog.

3. In combination with the driving shaft and a driven member of a power-propelled vehicle, an eccentric fixed on the shaft having atgone end a flange forming laterally a stop shoulder; a dog on `the eccentric stopped laterally against the shoulder; an annular flange on the driven member circular about the axis of the shaft and encompassing the eccentric and the dog and adapted to befrietionally engaged by the dog, the bearing of the shaft having the flange at the opposite side of the dog from said shoulder, and a frictionul packing ring seated in the face of the flange for frictionulbearing against the face of the dog, and means for adjusting the parts to press the dog between the stop shoulder at one side and the frictional l flange at the opposite side` 4. '.lhe combination with a driving shaft and driven member of a power-propelled vehicle of a clutch element journaled upon an eccentric bearing on the shaft and bnlunced thereon at all positions of its movement Vthereabout, the driven member having 'u flange adapted to be engaged by said clutch element at the periphery of the lat ter, the clutch and the driven member bolug substantially y with each other except at such gripping element on the driven membe r.'one ol sud elements being `859,945 L j a 7. The combination with lthe drivingshaft and the driven member'of a power-propelled vehicle, of an annular clutch element on the'drlving member; a coperating annular clutch element carried by the driven ',member; lateral means `for frictlonaily retardng the'rotation of the 10 clutch element which is carried by the driven member, and

an eccentric on the shaft for thrusting said element eccentrically when thus retarded.. A

In, testimony whereof; have hereunto set myI hand in the presence offtwo witnesses, at Kenosha, Wisconsin,

this 18th day of August, A. D.,'1905. l

THOMAS B. JEFFERY.

Witnesses: l

H. W. JEFFEBiz, GEO. H. EDDY. 

